Dotsie,

Your question about the young woman is a difficult one. I was devastated when my younger daughter dropped out of college for a semester to work at a place called the Frontier Nursing Home in Hyden (I think) Kentucky. All she got was room and oard. She helped an old lady learn to read and a blind woman learn to dress and take care of herself. I couldn't figure out what she was doing. But she was growing up and getting a better understanding of the world after always having it easy. After that, she finished college, went out to New mexico and taught Navajo High School childrfen and helped them get into college, then taught young Pueblo school children how to write poetry. She lived on a shoestring, and now is married, having a baby, and responsible for the new literacy program in a school in Boulder, Colo.

Dotsie,

Your question about the young woman is a difficult one. I was devastated when my younger daughter dropped out of college for a semester to work at a place called the Frontier Nursing Home in Hyden (I think) Kentucky. All she got was room and oard. She helped an old lady learn to read and a blind woman learn to dress and take care of herself. I couldn't figure out what she was doing. But she was growing up and getting a better understanding of the world after always having it easy. After that, she finished college, went out to New Mexico and taught Navajo High School children and helped them get into college, then taught young Pueblo school children how to write poetry. She lived on a shoestring, and now is married, having a baby, and responsible for the new literacy program in a school in Boulder, Colo.

I have no idea why my message got posted 3 times. Sorry!

Judy

You must be very proud of your daughter.

Her example does prove to me that we all find our own way of getting to our goal. And somehow we are guided to "do what we need at the time" to get to that goal.

Your daughter sounds very in tune with herself.

This talk about women int he workforce is very interesting and very ironic for me. I have worked in male dominated fields my entire life and now I work with lots of women. I report to a man (which is really a comfort zone thing for me now). I am having to adjust to all the women.

And there are some down sides to working with women. They hang on to stuff forever! Men argue, yell whatever and then get over it. That is refreshing in comparison. So I am relearning some group dynamics.

I think the best advice for a young woman starting out is to get comfortable in her own skin. To be her own person. I don't mean dress crazy. The goal should be to mature and develop confidence in yourself. This will push you farther than any advice about gossip etc.

Judy's daughter is a perfect example. She needed to get confident with herself and I suppose that included some life experience.

Life expereince can not be taught and I have always been provided opportunity based on it =rather than a degree or achievement.

My 5 cents.

Lynn

I'm going to change the movement of the topic for a moment.

My husband is a turn around guy. He's the one that goes into a large company and although he doesn't do the firing, he tells different departments how much they have to cut back or get rid of.

He literally gets physically ill while this process is going on. He's there to save a company but the thought that people are losing their paycheck and job really hurts him a lot. He's not that well loved either. It's an ugly job, actually.

I wonder if any of you gals have any comments on this.

Dianne

I am sure his talents are immense. I understand what it takes to change a coprporations' organizational systems. An "audit" of this nature can be a life saver.

But if your husband gets ill over it, I think he should find a positive vehicle for his talents. No one should feel that way about their work. Easy to say, hard to do. Man or woman, we must feel good about what we do and it sounds like his job is not in congruence with his personality.

Many corporations simply want an outside Perfoirmance auditor, then they leave and the company decides what to do with the information. By that time, your husband would be long gone and not even know if the information was heeded. So he does not have to feel responsible for other people's lives.

Lynn

Corporations seem to need this shake up periodically, although I'm not sure it really helps. I view it like pruning a bush. If it's done correctly, it can improve the core life of the plant, or in this case, company. It actually can save jobs because if it isn't done, the corporation can go down the tubes totally.

However, pruning doesn't change the nature of the plant -- a rose is still a rose. So many corporations go through this process and don't change the underlying problems, or corporate culture that got them there. So eventually, they go through it again.

I agree with Lynn. If it makes your husband ill, he needs to find something positive to do with his talents. I recommend the book, "Now What?" by Laura Bernam Fortgang to my clients going through this type of questioning process.

He never goes into a company unless it's already in bankruptcy.

It's only during that firing stage that it bothers him. The rest of the time, he's fine with it. He loves his job.

Dianne

I think your husband is lucky if he loves his job. He must be good at it. Without his talent and effort, everyone who worked for the bankrupt company might not have a job.

I'm sure that both of you say that to yourselves when some people do lose their jobs.

Carol K

He went into one company that the former president had stolen over 500 million! Although he had put some of that stolen money into the community, the bankruptcy took small businesses down. The people in the town said, "We liked it much better when ****** was running the company." They could never see how much damage he had done. He got 20 years for his "community help."